Boycotting Blue

04/Blue

Blue

I was in an ass load of trouble, which was the reason I had been sitting on the front porch for the past forty-five minutes instead of going inside, where I knew Tio was waiting to get on my ass.

   Honestly, I hadn’t meant to get in a near death match with four other guys. I could’ve taken las panochas, but the teachers had stopped me in time. Instead, all we received was a cussing out from a balding white man with a huge belly that had had garlic for breakfast. The only thing that stopped us from tearing into each other in that office was mutual disgust for the man, who talked slowly and said chick-o in an attempt to be “more Mexican” so we could “understand” him, “come-pren-doe?” If it wasn’t for my about to be being expelled, I would’ve told him with every trace of Puerto Rican in me that, no, I didn’t “com-pren-do”, but what I did “com-pren-doe” was that he was about to get his ass kicked.

    I saw a Charger similar to mines—except more pimped out—pull up next door. In a flash, Lou was out of her truck. I saw her glance over at me, and I waved, desperate for some company now. Anything to hold on talking to Tio. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

   She glanced over at me curiously. “I need to—“

   “It can wait,” I called over. “C’mon, mamacita.”

    I could see the conflict on her face. She wanted to come to me. She stopped, door open, biting on her lip. Dammit, that lip-biting was going to drag me through hell. It was sexy already, but something about the way Lou did it, with her eyebrows furrowed, that innocent gleam in her eyes enchanting, that made my blood boil. She looked adorable, sexy, and innocent all pulled into one, and it was driving me loco.

   I had seen her all day; she had been avoiding me actually. She was in every single one of my classes, but she sat in the back, surrounded by dorks, and she kept her head buried in los libros. She made sure to keep her head down and make not a single bit of eye contact with anybody. They teased her relentlessly, but she either ignored it or glared enough for them to laugh and walk on. She was a cub in a room full of alpha lions. Tio was right; Lou needed me.

   And if she kept biting her lip like that, she’d have me in more ways than she bargained for.

   Finally, she closed the door and came over, walking slowly. It was too hot out here for people to even live in this kind of weather. But she seemed unaffected as she came over, still biting her damn bottom lip like it was a damn piece of gum.

   I openly checked her out. She seemed comfortable sexually, but, at the same time, she hid her body in little ways—arms over her chest when someone looked too hard. Dipping her head down and letting her hair cover as much as it could. Hanging her book sack down on her butt. Little things that brought attention to herself instead of hiding. She caught my eyes, looking like a deer in headlights, and I immediately knew I had done something wrong.

    “I have to—go—check…” she trailed off, as I drug my eyes to her lips, which had popped open slightly. “—my, um, dad is—Mario, my brother—“

     I chuckled. “Stop lyin’, chica. Come sit.”

    She walked up the steps, settling on the opposite end of the porch.

    “Conmigo.” I patted the seat next to me.

     She stared blankly. “What does con-me-go mean?” she asked, trying to words out in her voice. That southern accent chopped up my Spanish words.